Knitting in the dark

I started these socks as we were on a 7-hour (one-way) road trip. I knew I’d have the chance to get a bunch of knitting in, and I wanted something small and mindless but not too quick to finish. Simple socks it is (Rav project page)!

On that one trip (there and back), I nearly finished the first sock.

The skein (Patons Kroy Socks Stripes) for the second sock had a knot and a color change that completely messed up the progression (you can see it at the top of the sock on the right of the photo), which bugged me but I just went with it.

They fit really well (tweaking, ever tweaking that recipe), but of course when I got them finished my husband said he liked these better than the ones he had and would totally wear them. But by then, they fit me, not him. (Also, not nearly enough yarn left to make them bigger.)

During that first day in the car, I put them down when it got too dark to see. But then, maybe 40 minutes later, Paul asked why I’d stopped knitting. He figured since knitting was such a tactile activity, I would be able to knit without benefit of eyesight. Well, I’d heard of people who capably knit simple things in dark movie theaters, so I decided to try it. The results were less than pretty.

See all the snags and awfulness? And that’s after I fixed the really bad stuff

So, I learned that I need to practice being less dependent on my eyes while I’m knitting, while I still have access to light (say, when I’m watching football). I’m not quite there yet, to the point where I can knit beautifully in the dark. Although circular needles would help a lot, instead of using double-pointed needles. I seemed to have trouble at the start of each needle.

And these socks will remind me of that trip, to my sister’s baby shower. (Welcome, baby!)

I can knit in the dark, watching movies, riding in car, reading, etc. I rarely look at my knitting anymore, unless it’s a difficult pattern. It will come. And if it doesn’t, who cares. Maybe time spent in a dark car is for talking to your companion or creating stories in your mind?

They still look so beautiful and I’m so impressed. Knitting just baffles me–with sewing you just run it through the machine and can iron out many of your mistakes (my mistakes mostly come from mismeasuring). I love the colors! Do you use a special stretchy yarn?

Knitted fabric, at least certain stitch patterns, is naturally stretchy. The yarn is wool and nylon, which yes, does have more give than cotton yarn or thread, but it wouldn’t generally be classified as stretchy.